Old friend, new baby!

You know how when you were a kid, some grown up things seemed so far off and cool and, well, grown up? Like when people met for lunch, or flew on an airplane by themselves, or went to visit friends in the hospital? Last week I got to do one of those things. I got to drive to Dallas to see my friend Melanie on the day she had her first child, the beautiful Rachel Elayne.

Melanie and I have known each other since we were 12 years old. We lived together in college, and were each other's maids of honor. Her parents and sister saw me as much as they saw her most of the time. Since Melanie and her husband Josh moved to Dallas, we don't get to see each other too often, so I was determined to be there to see that baby. Mel delivered around 4 AM on Thursday, and I got there a little after 1 PM--not too bad! She had no idea I was coming, which made it even more fun. I have to admit, the trip was more selfish than it may appear. I got to spend a ton of time hanging out with my best friend and my second family, and I even convinced Mel's mom and dad to let go of Rachel long enough to give me a turn holding her a few times. It was a great couple of days. I managed to get some pretty good pictures--take a look:

Rachel:

Melanie and I--note that I'm unabashedly hogging Rachel:

Rachel and her daddy, Josh--isn't this a GREAT picture?

Look at these feet! So cute. I bet she's going to be able to peel a banana with them by the time she's 1!